The Philadelphia Eagles have some tough decisions to make in the next 48 hours. By Friday, their roster, currently standing at 75, must be reduced to 53 players. There are battles happening at virtually every position on the team and pure talent is only part of the equation.

One of the biggest decisions the coaches have in front of them for all positions is the question of how well a give a player can play, but in addition: Is he the right fit for us?

The competition at the quarterback position is one of the most highly publicized. Head coach Andy Reid on Tuesday named Nick Foles as the number two quarterback, which means that the question now moves to who the remaining QB will be on the Eagles roster: Mike Kafka or Trent Edwards?

That fact that Kafka could even be in danger of losing his spot on the Birds’ roster is a testament to the folly of football. You just never know what can happen, especially when injuries come into play. Indeed, it was an injury to Kevin Kolb that secured Mike Vick’s future as the starter for the team in 2010.

Foles will play a quarter in Thursday’s preseason finale against the Jets. Edwards will play the remainder of the game. His performance may serve to solidify the decision of Eagles coaches on how to proceed with Edwards. As he has performed solidly in preseason games despite little practice time in OTAs and at camp, do you go with him?

Or do you stick with what you have in Kafka, who you have no doubt knows your system but has shown in previous outings the limits of what he can do within it? Kafka’s injury took away valuable time from the quarterback to show if there has been marked improvement in his play, particularly on long passes. Do the Eagles trust that he could get by if needed based on his prior experience with the team? Or will the lack of opportunity in the preseason prove to be too much of a hurdle for Mike Kafka to overcome?

The questions for Philadelphia’s coaching staff surrounding Mike Kafka revolve around how much further they feel they can go with Kafka. And with Trent Edwards, how much does his previous experience as a starter in Buffalo pair with his effectiveness thus far in the preseason? Through the three preseason contests, Edwards is 32/48 for 292 yards with 2 touchdowns.

Edwards isn’t reading too much into the speculation and is focused on the task at hand Thursday night.

I’ve said all along that I’m going to control the things that I can control, and those decisions aren’t up to me. I’m going to do what I’ve been coached to do. I feel that I have progressed, and I feel that I know where guys are going and what I should do with the football now.

I’m sure that at the start of training camp Mike Kafka never thought that he would lose his position as the Eagles #2 quarterback, much less be at risk of not making the team in the 2012 season. Will the Eagles stick with the known commodity of Mike Kafka or trust Trent Edwards’ veteran experience?